[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 16692]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             RIGHT-TO-WORK

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, almost 1 year ago now, Michigan's 
Governor Rick Snyder signed historic right-to-work legislation into 
law. At the time he said he viewed it ``as an opportunity to stand up 
for Michigan's workers, to be pro-worker.''
  The union bosses, the entrenched special interests, and the 
professional left may have stood in united, militant disagreement, but 
Michigan's soft-spoken Governor was right. The more venom Big Labor 
directed at him, the more it seemed to confirm the suspicions of many 
of the middle-class workers Snyder was trying to help. He was, in fact, 
on their side.
  The truth is, over the years, Big Labor has come to care more about 
its own perks and power than the workers it was charged with 
protecting. Snyder knew that and he knew it was time to tip the scales 
back in favor of workers. He is not alone.
  In the Senate, Senator Paul and I share Governor Snyder's commitment 
to helping restore worker rights. That is why yesterday we filed an 
amendment that would enact similar forward-looking reforms at the 
Federal level.
  Our right-to-work amendment is simple enough. It merely calls for 
repealing the discriminatory clauses in Federal law that allow, as a 
condition of employment, forcing workers to join a union or forcing 
workers to pay union dues. In practical terms, here is what that would 
mean for middle-class folks in Kentucky and across America: If you want 
to join a union, you can. If you don't want to join a union, you don't 
have to. That is it. That is all this is about.
  This is just common sense. It is basic fairness. According to one 
survey, about 80 percent of unionized workers agree that employees 
should be able to decide whether joining a union is for them. But this 
amendment isn't just about ending institutional discrimination against 
workers; it is also about job creation, economic growth, and making 
America more competitive in the 21st century.
  Consider the fact that manufacturing employment is one-third higher 
in States with right-to-work laws or that, according to a recent study, 
States with right-to-work saw improvements in real personal income and 
average annual employment compared to what they would have seen without 
such laws or that many of our Nation's labor laws were passed in an 
earlier era, in some cases before many folks even had television sets.
  America's labor regulations are antiquated and they need to be 
updated for the modern world. That is what the flextime legislation I 
introduced last week sought to achieve, and that is what right-to-work 
seeks to achieve as well.
  Protecting the rights of workers, creating jobs, growing the economy, 
and keeping pace with the modern world is what right-to-work is all 
about. It is just common sense. If States such as Michigan, with proud 
traditions of organized labor, can look their problems in the face and 
act, then it is time for the Federal Government to act too.
  I urge my colleagues to join Senator Paul and me in supporting this 
important amendment.

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